Return to Magic
by Sleeping-force's-inside
Summary: Through War and Death shall she return to Magic and demons follow in her wake. Sequel to Forced Marriage 2, R & E & R Finished!
1. Chapter 1

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** Prologue**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

**Author's Note:**** And the Sequel for Forced Marriage 2 is here :D. Well, as you might recall I mentioned a time-skip. A BIG one… of about 10 years since the end of FM 2. So, obviously a lot happened. That's what this prologue is mostly about. Making this the longest chapter I EVER wrote (well, up until now that is…). It's three whole pages in Word! :O Sorry, had to throw that in here…**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

No matter how much he tried, he couldn't concentrate for one bit on his work. Laughter came from the street, again and again distracting the demon trying to work in the small office on the first floor. After a while Baltor simply couldn't take it anymore, put aside his sketches for the collier a wealthy woman had commissioned for her daughter's wedding and went outside into the boiling sun. Summer had been perfect this year and it was noticeable.

"Daddy!" Before he had even set a foot outside his house, Baltor was accosted by two young girls. Well, young technically speaking; their bodies looked like those of 8-years old, but their minds – courtesy of their demon-blood from their father – were over twice that age. This didn't stop them from acting according to their biological age even in private at times. In public they always had to, but they seemed to enjoy this.

"Okay, okay, get off of my feet, both of you." He pulled at the girl on his left leg.

"Daria, Darina, release your father." The girls' mother joined them, chuckling at the antics of her husband and children.

Laughing both of them took off, rejoining their friends playing on the street.

"Finally managed to tear yourself from work, beloved?" Faragonda asked.

"It's hard to concentrate when your children are having such fun outside." Baltor huffed, slinging his arm around her waist. "Besides, I can't leave you alone for too long when you're dressed like this." He pressed a kiss on her lips.

"Afraid I could get stolen?" She chuckled, watching the children run up and down the street playing tag.

"Always." He joined watching them, feeling warmth rising inside his chest as he watched his children.

Faragonda chuckled again as she saw the smile on his face. "I never would have believed you could be such a wonderful father."

"Holding a child changes a man, my Siren." He sighed happily. "They had me wrapped around their little fingers the moment they were born."

"And you couldn't mind one bit." She chuckled. "I just wish they could see Magix…"

It was a painful subject neither liked bringing up; they were still on Earth and no one in the Magical Dimension had had news of them since Faragonda had died. It was a subject that brought him guilt and her sadness. Even after almost ten years of perfect marriage, even after she had given him a wonderful set of twins, Faragonda still had an empty hole in her heart nothing could heal. She had found love with the demon that had initially taken her, joy in the raising of her two daughters and peace with that faithful decision so long ago and yet, something drew her to Magix still. Baltor knew this and it pained him that he could not help the woman he loved so dearly. Even the young twins, mirror images of their mother, save for their hair, which they had inherited from their father, and Daria's powers, which also were his, knew of the pain of their mother. Their parents had never made a secret of their past, even if it shamed Baltor to speak of a time where he had been out to hurt his Siren.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I swear that I should have never given you the name I did." Griffin scolded her daughter gently. "You're a witch, not a fairy."

The very child she was scolding took no heed, knowing full well her mother would prefer to throw herself off of Cloudtower before changing anything about the upraising of her child. Even if that upraising had been more fairy-like than it should have been…

"What has she done this time?" Codatorta entered the room, laying his sword on the table.

"Brought home a sickly animal." Griffin glared at her daughter. "I swear she's trying to take after Flora."

The young girl grinned. "Blame the name…" She said, her favorite way of dealing with these situations. She had found that reminding her mother of her case of fairy-like behavior made her forgive her daughter far quicker.

Griffin groaned. "I probably should be glad Faragonda did not choose to be a spirit, she would let me live this down even less than you do, Fara. Now be off."

Fara, whose full name was Faragonda, ran off as swiftly as her little feet could carry her. Her parents clearly heard her giggle once she had left the room.

"Ah, the joy of taking after a fairy." Codatorta teased his wife. She growled in response, eliciting laughter from him.

"Why are you here anyway at this time of the day?" She huffed, turning to the small bunny still sitting innocently on the table.

"Word from Lightrock to Saladin; they want him to try and contact Alfea again." He looked out of the window to where the light-blue roofs were just visible over the tree-tops.

"It is useless." Griffin joined him. "Alfea is death, don't they see? For ten years she has neither rebonded nor answered our calls. She died alongside of Faragonda all those years ago."

"Apparently a magician swore he had sensed activity in her." Codatorta went to the table, picking up the small animal on it, petting its' fluffy head.

"I'm on my way." Griffin left the room. "Let's waste some more time on this."

Codatorta sighed. Even after ten years anything remotely reminding of Faragonda – the old one, not the young one – was a sore subject with both the Headteachers remaining. Not only because they had suffered a terrible decrease in power, courtesy of the Three Points of Magic being reduced to Two, but also because of the political consequences Alfea's lack of rebonding had caused.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I just know you're simply doing this to spite me." Bloom said. "Why is it always MY kingdom where we have to release the kids?"

"Because your planet is the richest and hence, the one who can rebuild the fastest of all the planets we have access to." Riven stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Ten young voices exclaimed in unison.

"Oh, shush." Flora told them. "You ten are trouble in person."

"Only the boys are." Luna huffed, showing she was her mother's child.

"Oh yeah?" Her older brother asked, looming over his little sister. "I'll show you trouble!"

In a few minutes the adults were alone in the courtyard, Luna having fled from her brother, the other daughters following to aid her and the other sons following to help him.

"Were we ever like that?" Layla asked no one in particular, chuckling as she looked at the antics of her son.

"You do not want us to answer that." Their parents were there too, waiting for the celebration that would welcome the third child of the princess of Sparx and the King of Eraklyon. "Now come."

"Why must there be such celebration whenever we get a child?" Bloom sighed.

"Let us, Bloom." Miriam chuckled warmly. "It has been so long since we could hold a little one."

"Yes, three years is far too long." The red-head muttered, following her mother.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Most people would be worried if they were floating in a literal void, but not Saladin and Griffin. Both were completely at ease in this darkness, even with the two massive spectral bodies towering over them. One was a middle-aged man in heavy armor and long hair, shining in a warm orange and standing behind Saladin. The other was an elder man who had 'evil sorcerer' written all over him, shining a deep purple and standing behind Griffin.

"This is foolishness." The younger man said, his voice sounding as if several others were speaking with him, resounding in the emptiness. "It is a waste of what little energy we have, Saladin."

"We no longer have the power to defy Lightrock, Red Fountain." The old Headmaster looked up. "Just call, the sooner we finish this, the sooner you can rest."

"As you wish." The purple man said, his voice much like that of Red Fountain. He snickered. "Alfea is death, no matter how often we call."

"Then call to the dead." Griffin said, glaring at the embodiment of Cloudtower.

He growled, before reaching to touch the other male. As both touched a deep rumble reverberated through the space, as if an earthquake had hit.

After a while they broke contact and the rumble ceased.

"I told you it was useless." Cloudtower said, but fell silent when a soft light came from the darkness. They had been answered!

"Greetings, my siblings." A young woman, kind and elegant, shone in a gentle pink. Much like her siblings, her voice too sounded as if several people ware speaking, but unlike her siblings, hers carried an echo as well. "You called?"

"For ten years!" The orange man exclaimed. "What is wrong with you, Alfea? Why do you only answer us now?"

"I was not ready…" The new image whispered, shrinking away from the outburst.

"Bloody hell, Alfea, do you have any idea what this did to us?" Cloudtower growled. "Ready or not, you should have rebonded years ago!"

Something akin to fury came into that face, Alfea hissing as she spoke. "I would have, had my chosen one been here. She was not, so I did not. None of us should grow desperate and give our power to the wrong person!"

"Then you should have told us that, we would have searched for your chosen one." Saladin called.

"You would not have found her." Alfea looked up. "She desired not to be found and so none would have found her. But my waiting has come to an end; by the end of this summer, I will be whole once more."

"It's about time." Griffin muttered.

"Alfea…" A dangerous undertone had come to Red Fountain's voice. "You are brimming with power, sister. Why are you brimming with power? Have you been hogging it?"

"Yes." The youngest of the three schools said. "But only my own share. I never touched your powers, and you ought to know that, brother."

"Leaves the question as to why you did." The other man glared at his sibling. "This amount of power will paralyze your chosen one for a month upon bonding."

"All of us know this power will be needed." Alfea said. "We all know what is stirring inside the darkness."

Unspoken agreement and heavy silence.

"It is hard for me to be here without an anchor." The pink woman flickered. "One last thing, Griffin…"

"Yes?" The Headmistress asked.

"For my new Headmistress to know, my old one must. When battle is due, call upon Faragonda and she will know who will be my new one." Alfea started to fade. "But only when battle is due! Not before and certainly not after, do you understand?"

"I do…" Griffin said after Alfea had faded from view. "Well, that was nice…"

"I merely wish she would have answered sooner." Red Fountain stared at the place his youngest sibling had been.

"I wish she would not ask this of Griffin." Cloudtower said with anger in his face. "She wants me to risk my Headmistress so she can have hers."

"I think we can be certain Faragonda won't try to posses me." Griffin looked up.

"Cloudtower is right though." Red Fountain looked at the Headmistress. "Faragonda is dangerous, child, and death will only have made that worse."

"I wish someone would tell us why she is that dangerous, rather than for ages tell us she is." Saladin looked at the two spectral images. "Why is she that dangerous?"

"Why was she sixteen when Alfea bonded with her?" Cloudtower said. "Why was the day you lost your wife such a bloody one? You do not want to know, boy, so cease asking."

In a flare of light he and Red Fountain disappeared, forcing the two humans back into their bodies.

"You had a wife?" Griffin asked, shocked no one had ever even mentioned it to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 1**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You have been restless these last few days." Baltor studied the woman next to him. "What is wrong?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "Well, actually I do." Her dark-blue eyes looked at him with sadness. "Magix pulls at me. The desire to return has been steadily growing stronger."

"You regret staying?" He could not hide the pain in his voice.

"Never." Faragonda rose. "I can never regret these past ten years, no matter what happens."

"Mom?" The soft voice of a child sounded from the door. "I'm having those dreams again." Darina approached the couch her parents were sitting on. "There are more people now."

Faragonda extended her arms, gathering her oldest daughter in them. "Who?"

"Children." Darina leaned into the embrace. "They do not even realize what happened."

"Beloved." Faragonda looked at Baltor. "Could you go strengthen the wards?"

She waited until he had left the room before speaking again. "Did you recognize them?"

"Yes." Darina shuddered, tears forming in her eye-corners. "From that accident on tv. They were looking for their parents."

"Great power comes at a prize; I just wish you wouldn't have to pay it yet." Soft and gentle sparkles fell from the mother's hands, putting the daughter to sleep.

It were two sets of feet that returned. Both Baltor and Daria entered the room. "I strengthened the wards." Baltor rejoined his wife on the couch, pulling his other child into his arms. "Were they this bad with you?"

"Yes." Faragonda stroked the small head resting on her shoulder. "But I was older, and with the power of Alfea at my disposal it was much easier for me to ward my mind against them."

"I do not like this, Siren." His hand came to rest on the young child. "It is the second time this week, and we have barely finished Thursday."

"It means war is brewing. As the future amount of dead increases, so do the dreams in strength." Faragonda sighed. "Something big is going to happen, beloved."

"I can't wait, my Siren." His sarcasm was palpable.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The blast impacted with the wall, shattering part of it.

"Your aim needs to improve." His voice was cold as Baltor regarded his daughter. "It is still off. Try again." With a quick gesture the wall repaired itself, revealing a glowing dot on it.

"Yes." Daria took aim again, shooting another fireball.

"Off again." Was her father's verdict. "Your arm moves to the right before you shoot, ruining your aim."

"Yes." The young half-demon tried again, only to have her father push her.

"Pay attention to your surroundings." He waited until she stood again. "Concentrating on one thing is asking for trouble."

"You might be a wonderful father, but you are a cruel teacher." Faragonda crossed the room. "Get a break, Daria, I need the room."

"Thank God." Daria muttered, rubbing her sore arm. "I'm surprised no one has accused you of abuse yet."

"You were the one who wanted me to teach you instead of your mother." Baltor patted her head.

"Yes. I wanted you to teach, not abuse." Daria slapped his hand away, striding to where her sister was sitting.

"I wasn't aware it was Darina's turn already." Baltor said, looking at Faragonda from the corner of his eye.

"It isn't." Her blast hit him square in the chest. "It's yours, my dear."

"Oh, it is on, my Siren." Baltor rose from the floor.

"I like it when they do that." Daria whispered.

"They are awesome." Darina agreed. "Can you imagine how it must have been when they were still enemies?"

"Far more dangerous for bystanders, I reckon." Her younger sister giggled.

They gasped when their mother suddenly collapsed.

"Mom!" Both rushed into the room as their father cradled Faragonda's limb body.

"What happened?" Darina exclaimed. "What's wrong with her?"

He was paler than usual as he used his magic to check her.

"Someone pulled her soul." Was his verdict. "Someone who believes her dead used dark magic to summon her soul."

"What?" Daria looked at her mother's pale face. "Won't that harm her?"

"Only if they use her soul to empower an artifact." Baltor lowered the unconscious body on the floor.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Faragonda groaned as she regained the use of her senses. That had been very uncomfortable…

"Faragonda?" The voice was one she had not heard in years.

"Griffin?" She looked at the woman kneeling on the floor. She had not changed at all. Faragonda reached for her friend, only to pull back her hand when she encountered a charged shield. "You summoned my soul?"

"Yes." Griffin rose from the floor, almost coming face to face with the fairy. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Faragonda studied the guilty face in front of her.

"For what happened to you." Griffin sighed. "You died for nothing."

"What?" Faragonda recoiled. "Baltor…"

"Is gone, but we are still under threat." Griffin explained. "The Coven moves against Alfea and it has no defenses."

"No defenses?" Faragonda echoed, moving as close to Griffin as the shield would allow. "Impossible, Schools always have defenses."

"Not if the Circle is incomplete. The Three Points of Magic are reduced to Two."

"Saladin died?" Faragonda almost couldn't comprehend the thought.

Griffin was now unwilling to look at her. "No, he lives, but you don't. Alfea has held of her bonding."

Stabbing her would have hurt less, Faragonda reckoned as she registered what Griffin told her.

'I could have returned.' It was the only thought in her mind as she collapsed. 'I did not need to stay away!'

She screamed, her magic unloading in a series of powerful blasts, shattering the shields Griffin had erected. She did not notice those that came, alarmed by the noise of shattering stone. She did not see what they saw then; the body of a woman renowned for her warmth and kindness, surrounded by a darkness Darcy would be jealous off.

Her magic shattered the walls of the room, only by a sheer miracle missing those inside it.

Upon finally seeing Saladin standing in the doorway, Faragonda called back her magic, disappearing alongside of it. She had seen a memory in his eyes: of centuries past, of the day his wife had died and she recalled the horror she had seen then. This day had not been different. And alongside the horror had been recognition.


	3. Chapter 3

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 3**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"What was that?" Bloom rose from her crouching position, dusting herself off.

"Faragonda's true power." Saladin seemed to shake himself from a painful memory.

"What?" Codatorta helped up Griffin. "True power?"

"Long story." Griffin coughed. "This backfired badly."

"No." Saladin said. "I have a feeling this was enough for Alfea's purposes."

"Great." Miriam examined the remnants of the Summoning-circle. "So what do we do now?"

"Now we wait for the attack to start. Perhaps we have enough time for me and Griffin to explain some things to you." Saladin stepped up to the hole Faragonda had blasted in the wall, looking outside. Far away the lights of a great army could be seen.

The upcoming battle merely held a symbolic value, but that value made it more important than any other which had been fought between the Company and the Coven in this recent war. It had been not a week after Alfea had finally stirred when the Coven started to move. Now they moved to claim Alfea itself, full well knowing that holding the school meant holding the memory of Faragonda and even the monument of the fairy.

"A head and his or her school are strongly bond through the Bond of Schools." He turned at Griffin's voice. "But not only our strength depends on our School, our very powers are based on it. Perhaps you remember, Miriam, that my magic underwent a drastic change after I became Headmistress? That was not merely because I now had access to different spells."

"Upon dead the Bond is broken, and in dead we hold the powers we held before we bonded." Saladin gestured towards the half-broken circle on the ground. "That black magic was Faragonda's power."

"What kind of powers gives a fairy black magic? I mean, a witch with Darkness itself only has purple!" Stella exclaimed.

"A power dangerous enough that Alfea bonded with Faragonda before she even earned her Charmix and that can destroy an army, while being alone." Griffin answered the sun-fairy.

"That… that must be a great power…" Flora said. "But don't you think that 'defeating an army on its' own' is a bit exaggerated? Even Bloom can't do that!"

"I wish." Saladin said. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I clearly remember the aftermath of a Faragonda who was beyond anger. She nearly shattered her bond with Alfea, her desire to use her own power enough to enable her to do something impossible by normal standards." A flash of pain tore through his heart at the memory. "It is a sight I hoped I never had to see again."

"What happened?" Oritel asked.

Saladin sighed, old pain resurfacing once more. "Helixa's death."

"No offense, but who was Helixa?" Musa never had heard the name before, but the woman's importance to Saladin was palpable.

"My wife. She was killed by the Coven long before most of you where even born. She and Faragonda had stumbled upon an enemy encampment and she was killed in the ensuing battle. It must have been mere moments later when Alfea cried out, feeling her bond with Faragonda willfully torn. It took me only a few minutes to reach them, but the battle was over. The battlefield was devoid of life - any kind of it - and Faragonda looked much like she did just now, but with a hint of blood-thirst in her eyes." He shuddered at the memory.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The woman shot up panting and drenched in sweat.

"Faragonda?" Baltor moved closer to the bed. "Are you alright?"

No, she wasn't. She curled up, sobbing into his chest. He did not know what had happened in that half hour she was gone, but he pulled her close, giving what comfort he could.

"What happened, my Siren?" He asked, soothingly rubbing her back. "Talk to me."

In between sobs and hiccups she did, telling him what Griffin had told her and what it meant.

"I meant what I said: I never could regret these last few years, but that knowledge still hurt." She whispered. "That's why I felt such a pull to return; Alfea was calling for me all these years."

Baltor remained silent, before rising from the bed. "You have something more important to worry about: Griffin spoke of war. Why would she tell a death person that?"

"I will aid them. That is not up for debate." She rose, watching him tense at her words.

Baltor had expected her to say that. Damned Protectiveness. "You can't win this battle."

"I must try." She stepped up to him, eyes as fierce as he had not seen them in many years. "You cannot stop me."

Almost unbidden a memory returned to him: 'Golden eyes burst to life. "She gave you a second chance, Baltor, she will not give you another. Always remember this. If you betray her even once, you will lose her."' This is what the Dragon had spoken about. Either he helped her, or he lost her.

"And I will not, Siren." The decision was made quickly. "But you cannot win this war alone, and you won't have to."

"What?" He could see she had not expected that answer.

"Go aid them, my Siren, I will watch over you." His gaze was as determined as hers had been. "You are my life, Faragonda, and I will not have you miserable."

She stared at him for a moment, before surging forward and pressing her lips against his. "Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 4**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Thank you." Faragonda repeated. "I did not think…"

"That I would help you?" Baltor finished her sentence. "I am a demon, yes, but I am not evil. Not anymore." He called out to their daughters.

They entered the room, and their eyes were filled with magic, waiting to be unleashed.

"You wanted to know how we fight enemies." Their father towered over them as he spoke. "You can see it now."

Their mother apparently understood what he intended, turning to the full-body mirror in the room. She started to chant.

"A war approaches Magix. You mother will aid them and I will aid her should she not prove enough." He explained. "You can watch the on-goings on this mirror, but you will not join the battle, no matter what. Understood?"

There was anger in their eyes, anger and defiance. But Baltor had always been a strict and unyielding father. Normally Faragonda would temper him, but not in this matter. They both would accept no argument from their daughters.

The mirror flared to live, showing Alfea. The school was a ruin, one of the great towers having collapsed.

Faragonda released a sound of distress as her eyes racked over the building. One of the wings had a gaping hole in it, remnant of her loss of control and other holes were proof of attacks of the Coven. She could just recognize the people waiting for the attack and gasped.

"Yes, I see Miriam and Oritel too, but can't this wait until after the battle?" Baltor cut her off. "We should concentrate on that, Siren."

"It begins!" Darina drew her parents' reaction to the bottom right corner of the mirror. The Battle of Alfea had begun in earnest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

She hid herself in what had once been her office. From it she watched the battle start, calculating the odds for either side. Good was losing ground rapidly. They fought with fervor, but the army of the Coven was simply too great.

A chimera, aided by several sorcerers, bore down on Griffin and Saladin. Had it been merely the chimera, the two Heads would not have had a problem in dealing with it, even in their weakened state, but both the chimera and the sorcerers would overpower them.

A dangerous trait surfaced in the hidden fairy: protectiveness. She would not allow that beast its' victory.

Her blast send the creature flying. "You will not touch them, I will not allow it."

A rumble alerted the floating woman to something long overdue: Alfea's bonding. A joyous cry sounded over the battlefield, the walls of the school starting to glow brightly. From all four towers light rose into the air, before crashing down upon her.

The agony in her body made Baltor's improved mark seem like she had merely bumped into something, a nuisance in comparison to what she felt now. Her mind was torn asunder as a new presence came into her mind, rendering any thoughts of privacy useless.

"Faragonda…" A soft voice spoke to her alone. "How I missed you…"

"Alfea…" She whispered, trying to rise. Her muscles would not obey her commands, the new and foreign magic flooding her being rendering them paralysed.

"How fitting." Belladone's foul energy wafted over her. "So there are Three Points of Magic after all. I'm just sad Faragonda's death can't be attributed to me. It won't matter."

Both Saladin and Griffin remained silent, but Faragonda could feel their anger and indignation, not only towards the witches, but also towards Alfea for bonding at such an inopportune moment. She faintly felt her muscles relax, her earlier bond with Alfea helping her recover much faster.

She felt more than saw the witches preparing a powerful attack, fully intend on ending half of the Company of Light. Filled with their malice and hate, the attack would destroy anything in its' way not strong enough to withstand it.

Thankfully Alfea's hogging had left Faragonda with huge reserves of energy, temporarily allowing her to exceed even the Dragonfire-powered Bloom.

The crash of the blast impacting sounded across the battlefield, the resulting shockwave hitting the building hard, shaking the school on its' ancient foundations. It silenced both sides of the battle, both eager and almost desperate to know the outcome. A soft gust of wind, summoned by the storm-witch, blew away the dust….

Only to reveal the light-green dome of a powerful shield-spell.

"I thought I told you not to touch them?" She still wore the light-green dress she had arrived in, but her long hair had turned grey and her face looked much older now. She dominated the battlefield with her mere presence. "Perhaps you have forgotten it over the past few years, but I never liked it when people ignored me."

"You are dead!" Belladone exclaimed.

"I was dead." Faragonda calmly answered her. "I have returned, and I am pissed. Leave my school before I make you!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 5**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"How?" Griffin breathed.

Faragonda glanced at the witch. "Long story. But let me say this: ten years I stayed in self-exile because I thought Alfea had rebonded after my death. Ten accursed years I tortured myself. No more!" Her dark-blue eyes looked upon the Coven, frozen in shock. They burned with a fire even Bloom would be hard-pressed to match. "This is my School and no one but I will have control of it!" An angry scream tore from her mouth as her magic rose around her. "You are not welcome here!"

It was a threat which held far more truth than any would have thought possible. But the witches had never been one to back down from a threat. They attacked again, fuelled by fury.

Suddenly Saladin realized why Alfea had been hogging power: the powersurge of her bonding would take time to reach him and Griffin and in this way, Faragonda could compensate for their absence. Faragonda… After his wife and sister, she had been the dearest to him and although he rejoiced at her return it had raised a pressing question: Alfea had held off her bonding for the fairy to return, meaning she had known. So why, in the name of everything that was good and holy, had she not told them?

Shattering stone made him look up again. Lightning had crashed into the wing next to them. While they had sat back until now, the return of Faragonda had spurred the Ancestral Witches into dangerous action. Their very minds were now bend on destroying the returned fairy and all three of them could still succeed in that.

"You should have remained death."Belladonna hissed. "It would have spared you the humiliation of dying twice."

"Big words, Belladonna." Faragonda with a snip of her fingers turned her hair light-brown again. "You are challenging the wrong person."

"No, you are." Three pairs of eyes followed her every movement. "We are stronger than ever, and you stand alone."

"I never stood alone, and I never shall stand alone." Faragonda rose up in the air, facing them. "You might have gained power, but certainly not wisdom."

"Perhaps, but you cannot hold Alfea, Faragonda, you will die a second time." Lysslis hissed. "This time for good. I do not know how you returned to life, but it shan't save you a second time."

"Are you certain of that?" Faragonda chuckled softly. "I would hate to think these last few years were a farce."

"They were." Belladonna attacked, a hail of ice sweeping the battlefield in front of her. A powerful shield held the ice, Faragonda watching passively as it shattered against her defenses.

A barrage of energy balls left her gentle hands, each exploding upon impact. Lightning lashed out against the defenseless body, but a fairy blocked it. Bloom rose in all her Enchantix-glory, defending her former Headmistress. Light blazed in the darkness and the magical darkness conjured by Lysslis was burned away. Sound-waves met energy-waves, merging before exploding. A blade of green light shattered the shield swiftly erected as fire surged through the still night-air. Electricity crashed from the heavens, undistinguishing between allies and enemies. One of the lightning-bolts sought out a lone fighter among the monsters: Oritel. And he could not defend himself…

It never hit. It impacted with flesh, steeled with both resolve and magic. Dirty-blond hair in a thick braid was swept around the man's head as he defended Sparx' king. With a forceful shove he cast the lightning away, panting softly under the strain.

"You!" A chance glance backwards had revealed the man's identity to Oritel. And he was far less welcome than Faragonda was.

"Me." Baltor turned fully now, facing the man he had just defended head-on. "Do you mind?"

"As a matter of fact, yes!"

"Too bad for you." The sorcerer said, turning to the encroaching army. "Because I intend to stay here and win this battle."

"Not if I have something to say about it." Oritel had always been a skilled swordsman, putting to shame even the best Red Fountain had to offer. But at that moment, his sword did not come far. An elegant hand stopped it inches from the broad chest, blood dripping down.

"You will do no such thing, Oritel." Faragonda had switched battles before anyone could register she had moved. Her arm strained under the force her friend had put behind the hit, her blood ran down her pale skin as the steel sank deeper into her hand. "I will not allow you."

Again battle ceased, neither side understanding why she protected the demon and why the demon was wasting a perfectly good opportunity to hit her full force in the back.

Oritel pulled back his sword and Faragonda's bloody hand fell down. Within seconds a pair of hands had seized it, pulling it back. Baltor looked at the wound, before laying his hand on it. A blue glow surrounded him, heat pouring of him in waves. Then, in one swift move, his hand closed around Oritel's neck. "Do that again, and I will make you regret it like nothing ever before." His voice was threatening, like a calm sea seconds before the storm brewing overhead broke in all its' fury.

The very hand he had just healed came to rest on his arm, gently urging him to let go. He obeyed, stepping back as Oritel dropped back on his feet. Faragonda's hand remained on his arm, turning him to face the woman who had stepped in between them.

"You need not have come." Faragonda's voice was soft.

"And have Oritel die? I doubt anyone would be happy with that." He tugged at his shirt, transforming it back to the clothes the Winx and most others had ever known him in. "Coven excluded, off course."

She smiled at him, her blue eyes shining with a gentle warmth, but she was interrupted before she could speak.

"Exactly, so why don't you?" The voice was screeching with indignation.

"Why should I?" Baltor looked up. "You're not on my 'People-I-wish-to-please'-list, so I see no need to kill him." A threatening growl escaped his lips, a hint of his demonic nature flashing across his pale face for a brief moment. "Unless he pulls that kind of stunt again."

"He won't." Faragonda said. "Come, beloved, we have an army to take care of."


	6. Chapter 6

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 6**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Certainly." They looked at each other in a way Griffin found she couldn't analyze. But as Baltor turned away from Faragonda his face changed into one she had seen several times, sometimes even aimed at herself: hate. He hated the Coven and enough that he would fight alongside them. The question was: how long would that hate overrule his common sense? They would not be able to fight both the Witches and him.

Her musings were cut short when Faragonda softly whispered to him, using the indecisiveness of the enemy to do so. He nodded at her words, before turning away from the floating Witches. He raised his gloved hands and a strange light came from him, exploding right in her eyes. His voice thundered over the battlefield and she nearly gasped in shock. Someone would find their free will hampered dearly after he was finished. The Mark of Baltor… she had almost forgotten that vile power.

Screams of agony followed his words, bodies thrashed in the pain induced by the sorcerer. But it were no humans, but rather several of the monsters of the Witches' army. Now she did gasp in shock. Was he ruled by more than hate?

He turned around again, now wearing an expression of sick pleasure. He turned further to the fairy next to him, again looking at her in that un-analyzable way. "Good enough, my Siren?"

Siren? Did he just call Faragonda Siren? What. The. Hell?

"Yes." Faragonda's expression became warm and caring, but only for a moment and then it changed into a mask of steel: cold and hard. "Let us end this."

She flew up, shortly followed by the demon. Neither of them paid Oritel any attention, leaving him in the middle of monsters that now did Baltor's bidding.

"You should not have come." Never before had Griffin seen Faragonda act this cold. The Witches had crossed a line, a very dangerous line: they had pushed the kind fairy beyond what she would be willing to forgive and somehow – though Griffin had no clue how that could have happened – Baltor now obeyed her rather than his mothers. "Last chance, Belladonna. Leave."

"Never." It was three against two now. "You betrayed us."

"I don't think so." He looked at them, contempt the only emotion he displayed. "You betrayed me, and I merely react accordingly. You heard Faragonda: leave. Or Heaven forbid, we will make you."

Those words were more a blow against the Ancestors than any attack launched. They recoiled in a mixture of horror and disbelief.

"You wouldn't dare…"

"I dare a lot." He countered. "But I am not willing to risk a lot. Last of all Faragonda."

No curse could cover the shock she felt at that. Where had the demon-part of Baltor run off too? More importantly: how had he run off?

Faragonda herself grinned at those words, her hand coming to rest in his. "You have become almost sweet, my dear Sorcerer. Ten years ago I could never have dreamt you would actually mean them."

"You are a very persuasive woman, my Siren." He returned the gesture, pressing her frail hand against his lips.

"Enough of this!" Anger and insult manifested themselves in a storm filled with freezing cold.

Faragonda's shield held it from reaching them, but it was frozen. A mighty tower of ice formed around them, freezing those unfortunate enough to be caught beneath them.

"No!" Griffin cried in horror. She need not have worried: an explosion tore the tower apart, raining down chunks of ice. Baltor glowed a bright blue, Faragonda now having put some distance between herself and the demon.

"You are forgetting something very important." His voice was a snarl, anger resonating through every word. "Bloom is not the only one able to play with fire!" His hands were claws when he aimed them at the Witches. Fire erupted from them, surging through the air and forming a silhouette for but a moment. It lasted only a few seconds before the fire reached its' goal, but the form was as clear a water: a dragon, roaring in anger.

They were sent flying and when the dust cleared they saw a sight they hoped they never had to see. Baltor floated in the air, the form of a light blue dragon shining behind him. His Dragonfire raged alongside of him, illuminating the surrounding area. His hair defied gravity, dancing around his head.

"And I do not mind murder." The blue mouth opened and another salvo of flames came from it. From behind him energy surged forward, joining and feeding his attack. Faragonda was not as impressive as he was, but she most assuredly was far more dangerous.

They fought then, as if they were two halves of a whole. Perhaps they even were.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"What do you see, sister?" Daria asked, seemingly unaffected by the black eyes her sister had. They were perfect black, and the magic tainted even the nearby blood-vessels.

"The Witches are doomed." Darina stared intently at the mirror. "They will die for the last time."

She saw a black aura surrounding them, which was a certain indicator that soon they would give her strength. Contrarily to her sister, who gained strength from the fire burning inside her, the older daughter of Faragonda gained her strength from those that die.

Her eyes returned to normal as the battle raged on. Their parents did not hold back, their attacks fully intent on killing. Beneath them the army tore itself apart: the monsters controlled by Baltor attacked each other and those that lived were cut down by the defenders of Alfea.

Daria felt wave after wave of anger coming from her father. If she concentrated, she could feel a second fire burning on the battlefield: Bloom's.

"It is over." Darina's verdict was cold and harsh. They watched as their parents rage came forward in full force, tearing apart what remained of their enemies.


	7. Chapter 7

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 7**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

**Author's note:**** Oh my Squee! Finally something long ****in the coming: Demon-forms of Faragonda's and Baltor's daughters! See a picture of them ****here****: ****shimizuggi . deviantart . com /art /Two -is- better -than- one- 262528670**** Just remove all the spaces ****:) Also, for readers of my other stories: I have a Christmas-gift: updates of all 7 in-progress stories. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As Faragonda sank to the ground near Saladin and Griffin, swiftly checking if they were alright, Baltor sank to the ground a bit further away. Not so much because he did not care what had happened to the both of them, but because he figured it would be better if he kept his distance for now. He watched her talk to them for a bit, before deciding to look for surviving humans in the mess the two armies had left in their wake.

He was the only one doing so, the rest having rushed to the miraculously returned Headmistress. He was healing a shattered leg, when he heard the voices grow louder. When he looked up they had not moved closer, but simply louder.

There was anger in Faragonda's face, as well as in the others. He saw their argument grow more heated, hearing his name several times. Seems no one was very keen on having him here.

Suddenly, and later he could not explain what he felt right then or how it had come this far, suddenly Faragonda struck. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was deafening and none moved. The fairy was breathing heavily and the sorcerer looked as if he could not believe what just had happened.

"How dare you?" Her voice was dangerously calm, a slight quiver all that belied the raging emotions beneath her surface. "You are not my keeper, Saladin! You have no power over me! How dare you try and command me with whom to sleep or not to sleep! How dare you try and order me?"

She started to tremble, adrenaline leaving her body. "How dare you order me to whom I give my heart?"

Her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears. "How could you?" She turned on her heels and fled.

Baltor watched her run past him, seemingly having forgotten she could fly or even teleport away. He turned to the assembled crowd, meeting Saladin's eyes. A desire for murder came over him then, seeing only disbelief in those black eyes. But he quelled it, instead following his weeping heart. In the far recesses of his mind, he felt another Dragonfire explode in anger. Right now he couldn't care what his daughters felt or did, their mother was far more important.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bloom watched the demon chase after her former headmistress, not quite understanding what she had seen in his eyes just now.

"You ruined everything, Saladin!" She had never heard that booming and furious voice before, but it seemed the old Headmaster had. "I waited for ten years for the right moment, and you ruined everything!"

"Alfea…" The old man breathed, feeling the schools anger burn through his bond with Red Fountain.

"Yes, Alfea. The one you denied her Headmistress! She loves him, you old fool! I had to wait ten years for an opportunity where he could prove his change of heart and you had to ruin everything!"

Bloom saw the Saladin preparing to retaliate when a flash distracted her. A screech sounded as a strange being attacked him. A demon… How could a demon have escaped the blast of Faragonda and Baltor? Pitch-black fingers clawed at his shield, while leathery wings held the being aloft. She looked rather human, all things considered. Well, if one ignored the white face where her breasts were supposed to be. The black fingers were longer than those of humans, and the nails sharper. She had no hair, and her ears were almost ridiculously long and pointy as if someone had taken the basic idea of elvish ears and exaggerated. But further she looked like any other woman. Sharp teeth were revealed as the demon snarled. Magic came around her hands and she attacked the shield with new fervor.

Black magic seemed to taint the shield, slowly making it crumble under her onslaught.

"No!" Bloom cried, putting herself in front of the demon, her own shield repelling it. No demon could stand against the purity of the Dragonfire – except Baltor, who commanded it too – and this demon was no different.

The woman hissed, backing away. "Step aside, fairy."

"No." Bloom stood her ground as the demon stepped closer, wings flaring threateningly.

"Step aside, let me have my vengeance." Inches, the demon was inches from the burning shield. "Let me have my vengeance, or I will take it."

"I don't think so." The fairy refused to back down. "You shall not get past this barrier, demon. Leave."

"So say you. I beg to differ however." The long fingers reached for the shield, stopping inches from it. "I do not fear your fire." The demon lashed out, her long fingers closing around Bloom's wrist… on the other side of the shield. "I do not fear the fire of the Dragon. It cannot harm me. Step aside, or face me."

"Step down, or face us all." Stella's voice said. "You still are outnumbered and outmatched."

The hand let go, her owner retreating from the fairies. "Saladin will pay for what he did to me. What he did to my family."

"Demons deserve whatever fate Saladin gave them." Bloom countered. "And it will be your fate also, you will die here."

The demon started to laugh and her laughter sounded mocking. "Go ahead then, fairy. Kill me, but I advise you to aim for my heart." The hand closed around Bloom's arm once again, ignoring the flaming shield.

Bloom stared at the demon who was guiding her hand to the face on the chest. The face was unlike that of the demon in color, but it still had the same features, as if they were twins. Eyes closed, it did not react when the demon laid her hand over her pale features.

"Shoot, fairy, blast the face of my sister to smithereens."

Bloom couldn't be certain why she hesitated. But in that moment of hesitation, she sensed something beneath her hand and it horrified her. She tried to pull her hand away, but the demon's grip was firm and unyielding.

"What is wrong?" The demon flared her leathery wings once more, barely avoiding her absurdly long ears and stepped forward, bringing her body closer to that of the fairy. "Did you sense something? Did you perhaps sense what my sister commands, mmmh?"

"It's impossible." Bloom once again tried to free her hand.

"Impossible?" The demon now fully stepped through the shield. "I beg to differ."

She released Bloom's arm, the white of the face on her chest traveling across the entire body, while the black the body had originally been now colored the face on the chest. The wings and ears faded, long white hair cascading down around the pale face. Her fingers remained long, her teeth sharp, but her legs were replaced by a snake's tail with shimmering white scales. While the face looked exactly the same, there was no doubt it was a different person.

"Do not deny what you feel inside of me, fairy." The voice had changed too, from a threatening growl to a soothing lyrical voice. "Tell them what you feel and what you realized."

Bloom shook her head, backing away.

"Do not deny me, sister." The new demon crept forward slowly. "Tell them. Tell them who I am. Who I and my sister are."

"Don't." Bloom could only feel horror. "Don't."

"I could say the same of you." The demon stopped when several Winx shielded Bloom with their bodies. "Do not deny me, Princess of Sparx. Do not deny what we have in common!"

"She has nothing in common with you, demon!" Miriam's voice was full of anger and protectiveness.

"She has not?" The demon backed away, a serene smile on her face. "Oh, but she has, Miriam. We share something very personal, don't we, Bloom?"

"You…" Bloom ground out. "You also carry the Dragonfire, I feel it inside you. That is why you could pass my shield. You are related to Baltor."

"Indeed." Fire came into the demon's eyes, a fierce and powerful inferno. And behind her rose a Dragon, burning brightly in the gloom of dawn. And Bloom felt the scorching presence of a Dragonfire filled with rage. "Now let me have my vengeance on Saladin."


	8. Chapter 8

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 8**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Her anger burned brightly in the gloom, throwing shadows across the plain of Alfea.

"He hurt our father, our mother." Her voice had turned into a hiss, sharp and cold.

"Whatever I might have done, does not concern you." The old Headmaster said. "It is something between me and them."

"Do you honestly believe I will care for that explanation?" The demon advanced on him. "I will have your head for this."

"You will have no such thing." Baltor's voice boomed from above them: in the end he had realized that keeping his daughters from slaughtering the equivalent of a small village was marginally more important than keep track of Faragonda. "Now, please, don't make me actually defend him."

His soft-leather boots touched down between the wizard and the demon.

"He broke her!" His daughter hissed. "He must pay."

"But not by being killed by you." Their father glared at them. "All things considered, your mother is still too kindhearted for this."

"Look what it got her!" His ice-blue eyes widened when the white naga actually charged. Her anger overrode her judgment, but fuelled her powers. "He dies now!"

"Why am I stuck with protecting assholes?" The older demon muttered, blasting his daughter. "Daria, either you see sense or child or not I blast it into you!" He screamed. "Saladin will not die by your hands, or those of your sister. Return to your human form!"

She snarled, her deep-blue eyes burning with anger and hatred.

"Those eyes…" Bloom gasped.

"Their mother's…" Baltor looked over his shoulder at her. "They have much of her."

"But… but those are…" She stared at him.

"Mine." A sharp and angry voice said from behind her. Her owner indeed had the same eyes: the color of deep oceans. "Daria, listen to your father. Now!"

Faragonda's voice was commanding, and her anger made it terrifying to booth. The demon obeyed. A grey glow overtook her and in her place came two little girls.

Bloom found herself unable to tell them apart, the only difference being the color of the necklaces they were wearing. They looked to be about 8 years old, but their eyes burned with a fire she never knew children this young could posses. She was shook from her musings when Faragonda spoke again.

"I made my choice, Saladin, I made it decades ago. Now you must make yours: to have me or to lose me. I will not choose you above him, never. Your choice." She turned abruptly, striding towards her children. They disappeared in a rain of green sparkles.

Baltor stared at the place she just stood, sighing in defeat. "Here, this'll help you find us." He pressed a small card into Bloom's hand, before disappearing himself. On it was an address.


	9. Chapter 9

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 9**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I don't care, Saladin." Griffin raged. "I will not lose her again."

"Do you think I want that?" He countered. "But the Coven merely retreated. We cannot risk having them make use of our absence. One of us must stay here."

"I doubt she would want to see you anyway, uncle." Helia supported the witch. "Griffin should join Bloom."

"Fine." The old Headmaster relented. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Griffin nodded, stepping closer to Bloom. Sparx' crown-princess teleported herself, her mother and the Headmistress to Earth. There they appeared in the living-room of her adoptive parents. She used the pc standing in the room to find the location belonging with the address Baltor had given her. It appeared to be in a city near New York. Before teleporting there Griffin and Miriam changed their appearances to look more 'normal', something Bloom found very abnormal. Things like that happen when you have only ever known a person to have green skin…

"Nice neighborhood." Griffin commented as they walked down the street where the address was located. The houses had huge lawns and massive oaks lined the street.

"Wonder how they afford to live here." Bloom alternated from looking at the scenery to looking at the numbers of the houses. "There is the house."

It was modest, relatively speaking, having no massive lawn-ornaments or flowerbeds. Toys lay forgotten on the short grass. The three of them walked up the stone pathway, the only flowers lining it being lilies.

Before they were halfway up the door opened, revealing the two girls Faragonda had claimed to be her daughters. Their dark-blue eyes narrowed when they saw them. "They're here, dad." One of them called into the house. By the time the three women had reached the door, their father had appeared looking at them with an unreadable expression.

"You have something of a bad timing." He opened the door for them, stepping aside to let them enter. "Faragonda and I are about to leave."

"So soon?" Griffin exclaimed.

"We have a life here, Griffin." He gestured to a door to the right. "And I have a full-time job. I doubt 'we just returned from a war' is a valid excuse for my absence." He picked up a jacket from the couch in the room. "I need to be present at a convention this evening and Faragonda does not wish to stay alone. The girls will stay at a friend's house tonight. You'll either have to join us, or come back later."

"What kind of job?" Bloom somehow couldn't fathom Baltor behind a desk or actually doing manual work.

He smiled at her, as if he knew what she had been thinking. "One that pays well. So what will you do?"

"We will join you." Miriam stated.

"You worry for Faragonda." He read the truth in her eyes. "You fear I might harm her."

"You certainly don't have good track-record." Bloom defended her mother. "You killed her."

The girls hissed in anger and Baltor growled. His magic flared for a moment. "Never say that again, Bloom, or I swear that you will regret it. I have made many mistakes, but I never killed her. Nor did I ever have the intention of doing so."

"Then how did she die?" Griffin asked. "If not you, who did kill her?"

Baltor's ice-blue eyes bore into hers for a moment, before he turned to the dresser on the far wall. He pulled a binder out of a drawer, handing it to the young fairy. She opened it and saw a newspaper. The date was of the day after Faragonda's death.

"Read the front-page." He ordered as she lay the binder on the coffee-table. "Then think again before blaming me."

Bloom came face-to-face with the giant photo of a terrible train-crash. Her adoptive parents had mentioned it: a simple mechanical defect had caused an entire train to derail and crash down a hillside. Several of the wagons had ended up in the river, drowning those that survived the initial impact. The amount of dead had been horrifyingly high. She looked up at him.

"She was one of the casualties. Our wagon had crashed on top of one of those in the river, leaving us dry. When I saw her…" He turned away. "When I saw her I was devastated. I _healed_ her. My Flame of Live activated upon seeing her corpse. But my own injuries had left me too weak to fully heal her. We were both unconscious for weeks, she several longer than I. I released her after that, but it was too late. She had been away too long, and thought Alfea would surely have rebonded by then."

She could only gape at him. He looked vulnerable right now, more than she ever could have expected him to. The grief in his eyes was real.

"You are early." A voice from the doorway broke the silence. Faragonda was wearing a dark-blue dress. If she was upset, it wasn't visible.

"They'll be joining us." Her husband softly said. "You don't mind, do you?"

"I'll survive." She answered him, her eyes narrowing when she saw the newspaper in Bloom's hand. Pain flashed across her features at the memory. "How long before the car is here?"

"A few minutes, my Siren." He reached for her and she accepted his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 10**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The car was more than able to accommodate all five of them as they drove to New York. They stopped in front of a high building. Reporters filled the steps leading up to the doors. Baltor groaned at seeing them. "There we go again."

"Who are they waiting for?" Miriam asked.

"Me." He stepped outside, gallantly helping the women leave the car. Indeed, the moment he left the car, the cameras flashed eagerly. "Come. Stay close." He offered Faragonda his arm and led them up the stairs, entering the building without even once turning to talk to the reporters.

"You're famous." Griffin realized.

"That would be an understatement." A voice came from their right. A small man, about the size of Wizgiz, stood there, wine-glass in hand. "Where have you been living, darling?"

"Cian." Faragonda's voice sounded scolding, the tone she at times used on her students. "They are our guests."

"It's the truth, Faragonda. How can they not know your husband's fame?" He kissed her hand, something which caused Baltor to tense just a little bit. But Bloom felt a wave of anger coming from the other Dragonfire.

"They live a tad isolated." She gently freed her hand from his. "That is why we invited them here to see his work."

"And we ought not to let them wait." Baltor nodded at Cian, before leading them away from him.

"There are times when I want to murder him." He murmured under his breath as he went into the restaurant.

"He has yet to grow untoward, beloved." Faragonda soothed him. "Can you blame him for finding me enchanting?"

"I can blame him for not hiding it better." The demon sat down at a table for five.

"He desires you?" Miriam asked.

"Not so much me, but the source of inspiration Baltor seems to find in me." Faragonda clasped her husband's hand. "He has grown old and his own inspiration is at an end."

"And I don't like that." He drew the attention of one of the butlers, ordering some wine to be brought.

"Can you perhaps tell us inspiration for what then?" Bloom looked around her.

"My work." He pointed to a screen mounted on the far wall. "It'll start in a few minutes."

They all turned towards it, watching as the movie started.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Somehow I never expected for you to have this kind of job." Griffin breathed after the movie finished. "All that is your work?"

"All of it." He smiled at the looks on their faces. "Come, I will show you the real work."

"And when we return home, you can show them your private collection." Faragonda smiled gently. "Come, my friends."

She seemed to glide as she led the way, and for a moment Bloom knew where Baltor found his inspiration in her. She was beautiful, her dark-blue eyes burning with gentle warmth.

She turned to look at Baltor and was astonished at the love and warmth coming from his eyes. He rose, taking the Headmistress' hand and led the way.

"Too bad you already married." Faragonda mused, looking at Bloom. "He designed some sets specifically for you and the other Winx."

"You did?" Bloom gasped.

"I can show you when we return." Baltor promised. "I was bored."

Faragonda giggled at that. "Tell that yourself, beloved."

He growled at her, but there was no true threat or anger behind the gesture. Then his eyes lighted up. "Here we are: the creations of Baltor."

Security allowed him and the women to bypass the waiting-line. Bloom gasped as she entered the rooms behind the glass doors. The jewelry looked even more magnificent in real life.

"Don't get lost now. We can't have security throw you out because you haven't been invited."


	11. Chapter 11

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 11**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You have changed." Bloom softly said, while she studied the man across from her. He looked up from the coffee he held, watching as she carefully put back the necklace she was holding. He had showed her his work, and now they were alone in his study. The other three women were downstairs, Faragonda catching up with her friends.

"I blame her for it." He answered her just as softly. He put down his drink and opened his hand so she could put the box in it. She handed it back for him to put it in the vault hidden behind a painting. "And the girls. I once got called for Jury-duty. The woman was considered guilty of child-abuse. I passed my own judgment after seeing into her mind."

"What happened?" Bloom took up her own cup of tea.

"She felt no remorse for what she had done; only grief that those 'little brats' made her end up in prison." His ice-blue eyes revealed no remorse at what he had done. "I voted guilty, as did the rest of the jury. But prison did not agree with her. She became mad in it."

His gloved hand reached out to a frame standing between them. He turned it so she could see it: a family-picture and while Faragonda carried her customary smile, he looked on like a strict and cold father. But his daughters clung to him, laughing in amusement at the camera.

"I have trouble to show my emotions, but that does not mean I have none." He studied the picture. "I have become protective these last few years, maybe even dangerously so."

"Like turning against the Coven?" Bloom leaned back a bit.

"Like that, yes." Something of a smile appeared on his face for a moment. "Faragonda rubbed off on me."

"She definitely is very protective." Bloom absentmindedly started to play with her sleeves. "And much changed."

"She did?" His eyebrow rose at that. "I had not noticed."

"Well, perhaps my view of her changed, while she herself did not." Bloom looked up. "I never realized exactly how powerful she is."

"The power she displayed in that battle was temporarily." He offered her some more tea, which she accepted. "Normally she is weaker, though still not weak, if you get my drift."  
>"I was more thinking about the power she displayed before the battle." Bloom stared into the brown depths of her drink.<p>

"Ah, that one." He too stared at his drink. "She is like all fairies in that regard. Her power falls and rises with the amount of power-source present."

"You know what it is?" The young fairy softly exclaimed. "What is it?"

"I do not know whether I should tell you." He looked strangely upset. "It is an act of trust if she tells someone. If Saladin and Griffin do not have that trust, I am not sure I should presume you do." He rose from the chair he had been sitting in, crossing the room to the window. "I do not wish to cause a rift between you."

"The lack of knowledge might already do that." Bloom joined him. She smiled as she saw what he was watching: Daria and Darina were playing outside under the watchful eye of the three other women. "Her magic is black. And if darkness itself is only purple, what must black mean?"

"A power I wished my child never inherited." He sighed, pointing at the girl with the black stone on her necklace. "Darina has her mother's power and pays the same price. It is no power a child should have."

"My daughter also has my power." Bloom softly said. "But I doubt that compares."

"It does not." He sighed again. "They are half-demons: their minds and powers grow far faster than their bodies. You saw how they looked at Alfea. Too old for their age. And Darina has her youth even less than Daria. I guess that is the price for power."

"Faragonda turned out alright." Bloom offered.

"Faragonda was claimed by Alfea months after she first used her power." Baltor countered. "Let it rest, Bloom. I pray you never find out exactly what she was. It will change your view of her even more."

A strangled sound from outside cut their conversation short. Griffin looked as if she had been hit in the stomach. By the time the both of them arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Faragonda had brought her inside, shortly followed by the rest of the group.

"What is it?"

Faragonda looked much like Griffin. "Saladin called out to us: the Coven is attacking the children."

Bloom paled. "How did they find them?"

"Oritel went to retrieve them, but he did not know he was being followed." Faragonda looked at Baltor.

He nodded. "Where are they? I can get us there quickly."

"Palace of Tides." Bloom said. "You'll help us?"

"Did you already forget our conversation?" He reached out with his hands. "Let us hurry. Daria, Darina, you're coming with us."

Had someone looked inside, they would have seen an explosion of light coming from the kitchen. But no one was looking…


	12. Chapter 12

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 12**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Bloom groaned as they ran to the exit of the palace from where the sounds of battle could be heard. "I'll murder them for this."

Dark-red bugs were swarming against the outside of the building: the Army of Darkness. That was why the Coven had fled so quickly when Faragonda and Baltor had attacked: they wanted to save their energy for the Army.

"This is going to be hard." Faragonda said. "Daria, take the forefront."

Her daughter obeyed and the demon beside them was now white, rather than the black she had been upon arrival.

"Hands off!" Bloom screamed, sending a fireball forward. The creature building in front of the door fell apart, most of the bugs being burned to ashes.

Griffin's eyes shot to where the children were and Faragonda suddenly realized why the witch had reacted as she had upon Saladin's call: one of those was hers.

"The child with purple hair." Alfea softly spoke into her mind. "She named her Faragonda, in honor of you."

The fairy ran to an older man at the forefront. "Saladin!" The power-surge of Alfea's bonding had not yet fully reached him and Griffin, leaving them still relatively weak.

"Faragonda…" He seemed surprised to see her there. His jaw tensed when he saw who followed her like a shadow. Baltor remained at the Headmistress' side, covering the both of them.

"You didn't honestly think I'd let Griffin return alone?" She scolded. "Where is the Coven?"

"Hidden." The old man answered her, leaning heavily on his staff. "They have yet to reveal themselves."

"Typical them." She rested her hand on his shoulder, giving him some of her energy. "Let us hold of this army then. Could you find them?" that last question was directed at her husband.

"Not with this much interference." He glowed with the power he expended, his eyes burning with white-hot flames.

"Jolly." Faragonda created a shield as a giant bug-warrior attacked. Seconds later the fire of Baltor had burned it away. "At least we have the Dragonfire this time around."

"Three Dragonfires." The demon beside her corrected. "Bloom's children not included." He glanced back to where the Winx were. They were protecting the castle, and the children, rather than attack the Army head-on.

"Go help them." Faragonda gestured to where Bloom was going scorch-happy. "I'll erect a shield with Griffin and Saladin."

Baltor flew off, his fire joining Bloom's in her assault on the army. Faragonda and Saladin fell back, replacing the Winx as they flew to their leader's side. The Three-point shield formed with a powerful flash, blocking the insects from entering the castle as they fled the fire.

A surge of power from their right alerted them to something big approaching.

"Dodge!" Stella screeched as ice hailed down from the skies. The Coven had arrived.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

All right, now this was terrifying. Of this Fara, whose full name was Faragonda, was certain. She huddled behind her mother, shielding some of the younger children. Once in a while her eyes would flit to the woman next to her mother, but for the most part they were fixed on the image beyond the shield.

She had sometimes seen the fairies transformed, mostly when they had been explaining fairy-stuff to their daughters, but she had never seen them battle before. Shit, she understood why they were cited to be some of the greatest fairies flying around. And she also understood the image her mother had always painted of Baltor: he was brimming with power, fuelled by both his demon-nature and raw fury.

But far beyond them was something even more terrifying to the little girl: ghosts of pure evil, seeking only to destroy everything and everyone present.

"No need to be afraid." The voice was soft, and terribly gentle. Her owner was a perfect contradiction in that regard: a voice that soothed little children, but a body that would send those very children run to their parents if they could. "They cannot reach you here."

Long, pale fingers soothed the hair of Lily, only child of Flora, as the little girl cried softly. Deep blue eyes looked over the shivering girl out onto the battlefield.

At least she was telling the truth: the bugs couldn't pass the shield and any attacks shattered when coming too near the green glow.

Fara was the witch of poison, much like her mother had been before becoming headmistress. Perhaps if she had been anything else she could have reacted faster. The shadow behind her grew solid, but she didn't notice until the Naga next to her shot up and started to glow with light and power.

"Mother!" The one that shared Fara's name whipped around at that one word, but even she was too slow.

Griffin's child had never screamed as loud as she had when she was carried off by Lysslis through the barrier, far away from the safety of her mother's nearness. Griffin screamed too, but less in fear and more in fury. Faragonda – the old one, not Griffin's child – grabbed her to prevent her from doing something stupid to save her daughter.

"Surrender, or she dies!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 13**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Now she was angry. Faragonda was furious and that always had been a dangerous thing. But in this case even more than other times: the bond with Alfea was still 'new' and as such very frail. How dare they? Was it not enough that they attacked the children?

Something started to stir inside her, fighting against invisible bonds. Her old power reacted to her anger, demanding a way out.

"No. You release her or you die." Her power pulsed inside her with agreement. "Belladone, when will you learn that I should not be angered? Have you truly forgotten Helixa this easily? She was the only Chosen for Saladin I ever met. The only one who could give him children. Alongside her died all of his children, regardless of whether she was pregnant or not. Do you honestly believe I will react differently when it is Griffin we're talking about?"

Baltor had been looking up at the Coven, but now he turned towards her. He looked afraid as he met her eyes. He knew what was happening inside her: how Alfea's power was straining to keep her old power at bay.

Her blue eyes flickered, switching between black and the deep blue she normally had.

"Bloom." Baltor had found out a handy ability with his daughter when he trained her: telepathy between owners of the Dragonfire. "Get out of here. Get the children inside: no one should be exposed to this at such tender ages. Hurry."

"What is happening?" The fairy asked him, her eyes wide as she stared at her former Headmistress.

"Faragonda is going to use the power she was born with. Now hurry!" He did not turn away from his wife as she turned to him. Her eyes were darkening now that only monsters remained between her and the Coven. She was speaking again, but the answer was not to her liking.

Her eyes were now pitch-black. Another sneer. Again an unlikeable answer.

Her magic tainted the blood-vessels near her eyes. Her colleagues backed away, not knowing what was happening to her.

"As you wish." His own pounding heart nearly drowned out those words. The very next moment she attacked. Not the witches, but the army. Her arm became black and as she brought it down that very black erupted from her outstretched fingers. The entire ground became black as the very depth of night.

And then all Hell broke loose. Massive spires of black energy shot up, impaling monsters as they reached for the sky.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I hardly had a brain to begin with, but I knew I didn't want to be here. I. Did. Not. Want. To. Be. Here! My siblings – how else am I supposed to call them? – strained to keep the collective alive. I wasn't that foolish. I was the first to disengage, falling down to the hard ground.

As I looked up I looked at a nightmare: everywhere collectives had been impaled, black magic coating them. My siblings screamed in horror, fear, but most of all, in their death-throes. What fell down was mud, nothing more than mud. She was killing them all as if they were nothing more than bugs. Well, normal bugs, if you get what I mean. I wanted to get out!

But where to? New spires rose up, becoming sentient to hunt my family. The woman kept feeding this vile magic, her eyes still being as black as they had been at the beginning.

I scuttled away, being terrified. There! There was no magic with that man! Everything was better than this, even being burned to a crisp! I hid with him, begging whatever deity would have pity on me that he wouldn't see me. I did not want to die.

I screeched in horror when the area around me became a sea: terrible black waves reached for the heavens, roaring as they stormed around the castle. I had been right though: the man was spared, the black water parting around him.

The screams grew less. Did that mean I was the only one? The only one left? NO, no! That couldn't be possible! What magic was this? What kind of monster could do something like this?

The magic calmed, turning the ground into a smooth black surface. None of my siblings was alive. I truly was the last one. Impossible! We had been millions! That woman was no fairy, she was a monster!

I peeked from behind his boot at her. In front of her was a clean line of blackness, behind which there was only normal rock. The other humans stared at her much like I did.

She stepped forward, her heels clacking softly as they touched the bare rock. And she kept walking out onto that black mirror. The man did not move as she stepped over that line.

The blackness on the entire ground reacted to her presence, shooting towards her. Had I had a mouth, I would have screamed. Every single vein turned black, even the tiniest blood-vessel became filled with that magic. And those eyes! Holy something above, they looked like pools of sheer death: black, black en even more black.

I was too afraid to move. Had that man walked away, or even shifted, I would have been dead ten times over. But he did not move. Was he as terrified as I was?

The woman spoke, but I did not understand her. I didn't know the human-language.

She attacked again. She attacked my mistresses head-on. And they were afraid, I could see as much. I was so fixed on the fight above that I did not notice the hand until it closed around my body. I screeched in surprise when I lost the ground under my feet. The man had seen me.

He turned my head towards him, saying something in that strange language of his.

I was doomed. He put me on his hand. I cowered down. I did not want to die.

His gloved finger stroked me. Wait, what? As that woman killed my mistresses and I felt my hold on my life fade quicker than… something… I for the first time understood the human language.

"Smart little one, but useless, so useless."

What?

Mud stained white gloves.


	14. Chapter 14

**Category:**** Winx Club**

**Rating:**** M **

**Couples:**** Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta**

**Warnings:**** AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails**

**Chapter:**** 14**

**Copyright:**** © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Faragonda gently held Griffin's daughter as she sank to the ground. A few feet away Baltor threw a handful of mud on the ground, pulling of his white glove as he did so. He looked at the brown spot, before simply cleaning the white fabric with magic. He looked up as she touched down, before smiling gently at her.

Daria and Darina had separated, now running up to their parents. Griffin seemed frozen in place, unsure whether she wanted to approach or stay away. Faragonda took that choice from her when she put Fara down, telling the girl to run to her mother. The young witch obeyed, running to the safety of her mother's arms.

"Are you alright?" Baltor softly asked. He took her hand, searching her blue eyes for a trace of black.

"Physically, yes." She answered him, smiling when her two daughters reached them. "How will they react to this? I let myself go with my anger."

"It saved Griffin's child." Her husband said.

"It revealed my power in the most terrible way." The Headmistress looked around them. Only mud remained of the Coven and their forces. "This is not what a Head of Alfea is supposed to do."

"A Head of Alfea is supposed to protect, no matter how." The voice of Griffin joined in their conversation. Little Fara clung to her mother, who stood not a foot from Faragonda. "Though I admit this was truly the last power I expected you to have."

"Don't worry, you're not the only one in that regard." Baltor said. "And you're taking it better than I did."

"You were near fainting." Faragonda pointed out dryly.

"Was not." He countered. "I most assuredly was not."

"You definitely looked like it." She reminded him.

"There is a great difference between looking and being, my Siren." He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.

"And you two bicker like an old married couple." Saladin looked like that left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. "So it can be both at once too."

"I blame him." Faragonda stated, shrugging. "Shall we go home now?"

"Which one?" Daria looked up at her mother.

"Alfea, for now." Faragonda smiled warmly.

"Well, nice to see that place again." Baltor took Darina's hand. "Are all those powerful spells still there?" Every one stared at him. "Just kidding."


End file.
